


The Arranged Marriage AU No-one Asked For

by hockeyallthehockey, Zhenya71



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Arranged Marriage, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-09 23:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13492461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hockeyallthehockey/pseuds/hockeyallthehockey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhenya71/pseuds/Zhenya71
Summary: Prince Sidney of Canada is betrothed to Crown Prince Evgeni of Russia. It goes about as well as you'd expect.





	The Arranged Marriage AU No-one Asked For

**Author's Note:**

> My wife (hockeyallthehockey) wrote Sid’s part, I wrote Geno’s. There might be more! I don’t know, it’s an adventure! C=  
> You can find us on tumblr at [zhenya71](https://zhenya71.tumblr.com) and [hockeyallthehockey](https://hockeyallthehockey.tumblr.com)! C=

At age thirteen, still young and idealistic and in love with the idea of meeting his future husband and falling in love, Prince Sidney of Halifax was called to an audience with his father, and informed that he had been betrothed to Crown Prince Evgeni of Magnitogorsk, the iron-powerhouse of the great Russian subcontinent.

  
His future was decided for him, without any input from him. He had never met this Russian prince, had never seen a portrait of him, and would not meet him until their wedding day. He had a little over four years until his eighteenth birthday, and then he would become the Prince Consort of Russia, married for political reasons to a man he didn’t know, let alone love.

  
He spent two days in tears, and then gathered himself together and put on a brave face, apologized to everyone who had to deal with his upset over the past two days, and threw himself into things that he loved, while he could. He rode for hours along the beaches and cliff-sides near Halifax, traveled to other parts of Canada as an envoy of the Crown - the people loved him, and his kindness and fairness were well-known - and learned all he could of the country that would become his home in just a few short years. There were volumes about Russia in the Royal Library, but the books were old, and of course, there was nothing in them about the sitting King, or his heir. The Russia in the history books was cold, harsh, strict, intolerant of differences or dissension, and ruthless in maintaining the rigid social structure. Sidney’s would be a political marriage and he would be his husband’s property, with very few rights of his own.

  
It terrified him. But perhaps Prince Evgeni was kind, and wouldn’t simply own his new Consort. Perhaps.

  
He asked if he could write to his future husband, and was told in no uncertain terms that such things were Not Proper and Not Allowed and under no circumstances was he to trouble Prince Evgeni with such trivial matters. It was a political arrangement, and Sidney’s silly ideas of love were not going to be tolerated.

  
Sidney didn’t really like his father all that much. And while his mother understood, there was nothing she could do. The King ruled his court, if not his country, with an iron fist.

  
It was ironic, really, considering Sidney was betrothed to The Iron Kingdom.

  
He spent the year before his eighteenth birthday seeing as much of Canada as he could - there was no time to travel very far west, and the weather in winter made travel all but impossible, but he went as far as he could and worked his way back. And then it was time to board a ship to cross the ocean to Europe, through the Mediterranean Sea, overland through Turkey to cross the Black Sea, and then the long journey across land in the summer heat to get through what felt like half of Russia to reach Magnitogorsk. Sidney did just fine on the water, had spent half of his youth on the water, but the land journey left him exhausted, motion-sick, and increasingly less afraid of meeting Prince Evgeni than he was desperate to not be _travelling_ any more.

  
When they were only a day out from the city, King Vladimir’s guard met them - they would have an escort for the last leg of their journey. It didn’t make the travel any easier, but it did mean that they were almost there, thank _God_.

  
Finally, as the sun was beginning to set on the next day, the great city walls of Magnitogorsk appeared, and the high, gilt spires of the palace and, beyond that, the mine towers. They had arrived.

  
Sidney was so  _very_  glad.

  
Sidney was also utterly and completely  _terrified_. 

~~

Evgeni was fourteen when his father informed him that a political match had been made for him. It wasn’t unexpected, but Evgeni had at least thought he’d be given _some_  choice, a handful of prospective matches he could choose from, boys and girls he would at least have the chance to meet, before deciding.

But no, he was betrothed to a Canadian Prince he’d never heard of, let alone seen. And when he’d asked, “Is he at least pretty?” his father had given him a look that conveyed amusement and disapproval all in one. “It doesn’t matter if he is or isn’t, Zhenya. He’ll be your husband either way.”

Sasha, of course, found the entire situation hilarious, but tried to cheer his Prince up with, “Look on the bright side, Zhenya. You can always close your eyes and think of Russia, and you can have as many paramours as you please.”

Evgeni rolled his eyes at his friend, but he couldn’t really dispute the truth of that. He resigned himself to the idea, and more or less put it from his mind for the next four years. His life went on as it always had before he was betrothed, and as he grew older, there were many pretty paramours in and out of his bed.

It was a couple of days after his nineteenth birthday celebration -  _Evgeni was still a bit drunk, truth be told, damn you Sasha_  - that he was informed that his future husband was on his way to Magnitogorsk. He took the news as well as could be expected, really, managing to leave his father’s study before throwing up out of the nearest window.

Maybe he should have been paying more attention, but it was a bit of a shock to find out that wedding preparations had been going on for months and he hadn’t even noticed. His betrothed would be here within the month, and he would be married within the week after that. Evgeni wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, so he did nothing, pushing all his nerves and worry down where he didn’t have to deal with them, spending his time as he always had, with his friends and his lovers, and his very good vodka.

And then Sidney was only days away, he was informed, and also, his birthday had been a week after Evgeni’s and Evgeni was pissed. Why had no one told him that? He had to endure Sasha laughing at him, as he scrambled to find a suitable birthday gift  _and_  a suitable wedding gift for his husband-to-be.

Evgeni spent the next couple of days in a state of low-grade panic. What if Sidney was ugly? What if Sidney hated Russia? What if Sidney hated  _him_? He got himself so worked up, Sasha practically sat on him and poured a half-bottle of vodka down his throat, just to make him go to sleep and shut up about it all.

The next day found him slightly hung-over, but a bit calmer, dressed in his ‘state visit’ finery -  _that he hated, the high collar of the coat and shirt made him feel like he was being slowly strangled by someone very weak_  - standing on the dais by his parents thrones as they awaited their guest. Sidney had arrived late in the evening and had been shown to the rooms near Evgeni’s that would be his. So at least the poor thing had had a chance to sleep and freshen up some from his travel, before the formal introductions.

Evgeni shifted on the dais, muttering the handful of English words he’d been taught to himself. Then the doors opened, Sidney’s arrival being announced, and he lifted his head, eyes wide, as he waited to see what his future husband looked like. God, he hoped Sidney didn’t hate him.


End file.
